Category Archives: Travel Article

For all the global nomads out there who have been bitten by the travel bug, I came across a statement in wordpress blogosphere that perfectly captures what drives us to travel, explore and discover!

Frank Sinatra sang: “Let’s take a boat to Bermuda/let’s take a plane to St. Paul/let’s get away from it all!”

To travel is to give into wanderlust — regardless of how you define it.

You may crave a wild adventure or simply want to admire mother nature from the serenity of a hammock. You may love the thrill of jumping on the subway in a gigantic city or instead dream of kayaking down a solitary river.

In other words, “Let’s leave our hut, dear/Get out of our rut, dear/Let’s get away from it all.”

Last week’s bankruptcy agreement between General Motors and the U.S. Government placed an emphasis on increasing the company’s “investment and leadership in fuel economy and advanced propulsion technologies” reminding us once again of the power of the Green Energy movement in today’s world. Despite the economy (or perhaps because of it), our awareness of, and interest in, the need for responsible living continues to grow. After just a few years green initiatives, resorts, spas and golf courses have all found ways to improve energy efficiency, reduce fossil fuel consumption and waste, and promote environmental awareness while still pampering us. Continue reading →

Turkish boatbuilding heritage is best appreciated from aboard a Gulet sail boat.

Though I often think about where I’d love to explore next, I don’t always put a lot of planning into my travels. Incidentally, I stumbled upon one of my favorite destinations in a haphazard sort of way. My friend and I had taken a bus from Istanbul to Gallipoli and finally to Ephesus. I was planning to meet another friend of mine a week or so later in Greece, yet we had no definite travel plans in the meantime. There were so many unique places in Turkey that I really wanted to see. Somewhat constrained by dates, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fit everything I wanted to do in this trip. Continue reading →

A sanctuary of calm within bustling Jakarta city proper. One of the city's best-kept secret.

Birds chirping, dense growths of mangrove and pedada trees swarming with long-tailed monkeys – it’s hard to imagine that all this can still be found in Jakarta, but it is, at the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve in North Jakarta.

Entering the wildlife reserve, I was greeted by birds calling to one another from the mangrove and pedada trees. They seemed to be welcoming our arrival with the sounds of nature. It was all so peaceful and pleasant.

The Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve (Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke, SMMA) is a small conservation area of mangrove forests on the north coast of Jakarta. It was originally established by the Netherlands Indies government as a nature preserve on 17 June 1939 with an area of 15.04 ha, and later expanded to 1,344.62 ha in the 1960s.

Where to go green in style

green is not a new concept in the world of travel. For decades, resorts like Maho Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Turtle Island in Fiji have demonstrated that eco-awareness and sustainability can coexist with tourism. But in the past five years, the “eco” buzz has been amplified within the travel industry—and throughout popular culture as well.

“Being green has entered every part of many people’s lives, including travel,” says David Krantz, a coordinator with the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Washington D.C. “Americans take their impact more seriously than ever before.” The result? Resort owners and developers around the world have tapped into the eco trend. Resorts such as the Black Rock Lodge in Belize and Ranweli Holiday Village in Sri Lanka are catering to the new ecotourism ethos through environmental conservation, light-on-the-land building techniques and the embracing of local culture at resorts. Sure to redefine eco architecture when it breaks ground in 2008, Star Island in the Bahamas is a private island resort being developed in a fully sustainable way using innovative technology and standards.

Bright Lights, Big City! The famous neon circus of Ginza, in the heart of Tokyo's fast-paced, action-packed globalopolis.

Japan: the epitome of a surreal world, one that draws no parallel with any country in the world is a consistent image drawn by visitors who have always been captivated by the sheer difference from any country in the world.

This relates to its history of isolation. Breeding homogeneity and a single culture, with virtually zero contamination from the outside world. Only opening its “doors” and throwing its “tatami” (Japanese ubiquitous mat found in homes) welcome mat to the outside (read: Western) world in 1868. During the tumultuous Tokugawa regime, a period known as Meiji Restoration, with Admiral Perry’s historical visit that marked the beginning of Japan that has flourished into what it is today. Continue reading →